Part XII: How I Fight
The self-satisfaction of every small victory builds defiance.
Self-respect overcomes all failure, achieves all success.
––John Roberts
We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope.
––Martin Luther King, Jr.
As studies mount showing the benefits of regular, moderate physical activity before, during and after treatment, cancer rehabilitation facilities, wellness centers and YMCAs are offering exercise programs to help people through the disease. For those weathering, or about to weather, surgery, chemotherapy, radiation or medication regimens, cardiovascular and strength training can help counter side effects such as extreme fatigue and muscle wasting. For those recovering from treatment or who are in remission, exercise can bolster healing, propelling them back into normal life faster.
––Jeannine Stein, “Cancer Patients Are Making Their Bodies Strong Again,” Los Angeles Times, October 20, 2008
Any kind of active, deliberate learning seems to challenge the nervous system in uniquely fruitful ways––but it will have this effect only if it is exciting enough, and pleasing enough, to keep us motivated and engaged on an ongoing basis….Care about what you learn passionately, and apply it daily in a newly challenging lifestyle, and the brain will thrive. This is the type of life activity most likely to grow the brain.
––Jeff Victoroff, M.D., Saving Your Brain, 2002
Intensity is what matters, not the nobility or baseness of the aspiration. Intensity opens the doors on the inner resources and releases energy. Strong desire floods the being with the tremendous energy to achieve that aspiration; weak desire produces indifferent energy. This principle has nothing to do with what people say they want or how they behave––it has everything to do with what they really want.
––Frederick G. Harmon, The Executive Osyssey, 1989
Fighting cancer calls for a state of mind that will resolutely create and manage the necessary personal and support forces. This will rarely be easy, and there may be many difficulties, setbacks, or even total failure. It helps greatly if we prepare to meet all of these, including acceptance of the possibility of death. During my few years of cancer, I have prepared for all possibilities, while I have enjoyed all the individual efforts and battles of my fight. I have never allowed a day of defeatism or discouragement.
Ten years ago, after six turbulent decades of belated growth and searching ambition, I reached a state of peace and settled existence. I firmly established a permanent condition of equanimity and self-respect, always fighting for a little bit more and never expecting or deserving perfection. In these senior years, I married a beautiful and strong young woman who brought me much happiness, grew closer to my dispersed family, held several interesting jobs, wrote this book, read hundreds of others, found new friends, and made a practice of enjoying every single day. The inner quality of my elder life, which now has little to do with possessions or more dramatic experiences, has made up for whatever failures and shortages occurred earlier. The heart of that quality is merely a refined and quieter extension of my earlier life of adventure, learning, fitness, and fighting. So, cancer, my very first illness, made little difference in my emotions, attitudes, goals, and daily life. Fighting all the way, I will die a happy and peaceful man. I wish you all such fortune.
Each of us, in the midst of the fight, can find our own way to peace with self-respect. Certainly, the shortage of time remaining in my life has hastened the process. This is a central part of the dying experience, as the individual seeks further meaning, understanding, self-improvement, and spiritual solution in the remaining time. I was fortunate in working at this for some years, and the new disease did not interfere. Whether this comes from the grace of God or my own effort within my own philosophy makes no difference to me. It is the result that counts. I found my peace before my sense of mortality, and that makes it easy.
As I take care of my body with diet, exercise, and mental control, learning about cancer and writing a book is the best way I can think of to help me deal with the evolving disease and its many related consequences in my life. I am well prepared.
